Mother's Day boosts fashion and beauty at John Lewis

John Lewis’s weekly sales surged in the seven days to March 10 with total company turnover up 13.9% to £228.24 million and the John Lewis chain itself rising 11.6%.

John Lewis

This was largely driven by gifting as a result of Mothers Day falling two weeks earlier than last year and that helped Fashion sales rise 17.9%. However, the downside of this is that weekly sales later this month could be dented.

Sticking with the good news though, womenswear alone grew by 17.7% with own-brand and cashmere “performing strongly”. And it’s no surprise that beauty also had a good week given the Mother’s Day connection, with fragrance a particular standout on a 62% surge.

Even the under-pressure Home directory was up 3.9%. Gifting, cook and dine saw sales rise by 35.2% as customers purchased treats ahead of Mother's Day, and stationery also saw double-digit growth. Elsewhere, decorative accessories were up 10%.

And Mother’s day drove Electricals and Home Technology sales up 13.3%. Small electricals, including coffee machines and food prep, had a good week.

It was good news after the chain has seen some challenging times in recent months. While still one of the strongest retailers in the UK, the overall tough environment and, of course, the snowy weather last month, have dented its performance of late.